Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered to be instrumental music as is music without singing. Music without any non-vocal instrumental accompaniment is referred to as a cappella.
A chanson is generally any lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of French pop music which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. The genre had origins in the monophonic songs of troubadours and trouvères, though the only polyphonic precedents were 16 works by Adam de la Halle and one by Jehan de Lescurel. Not until the ars nova composer Guillaume de Machaut did any composer write a significant number of polyphonic chansons.
Étienne Daho is a French singer-songwriter. He has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.
Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara was a French singer of Italian descent, who performed and recorded in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian.
Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded as the most important French rock musician after Serge Gainsbourg. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with hit songs such as "Gaby oh Gaby" and "Vertige de l'amour", and later had a string of hit records from the 1990s onward, such as "Osez Joséphine", "Ma petite entreprise" and "La nuit je mens". He has had an influence on many later French artists, and is the most awarded artist in the Victoires de la Musique history with 12 victories obtained throughout his career.
Pierre Perret is a French singer and composer. He lives in Nangis, France.
Patrick Chouchayan, known by his stage name Patrick Fiori, is a French singer of Armenian descent.
Marchand de cailloux is a studio album from French artist Renaud. It was released in 1991 and seen as a return to form after the less positive reviews for the previous album, Putain de camion.
Pierre Lapointe is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His work largely follows in the tradition of French chanson, though he is influenced by modern pop music. Defining himself as a "popular singer", he has built an egocentric persona of a dandy onstage, but says he does this mostly to deflect attention from himself. His records have found critical and commercial success in Canada. His regular tours in France ensured him a growing popularity as well as critical recognition.
Ariane Moffatt is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Known for working across multiple musical genres, Moffatt's music combines elements of electronica, jazz, folk, and pop. A francophone, she is bilingual and has recorded tracks in both French and English. Her 2002 debut album Aquanaute went platinum in Quebec, earning 11 nominations at the 2003 ADISQ Awards and winning three Félix awards. She is known in Quebec for two well-received singles from Aquanaute: "La barricade" and "Dans un océan".
Avant que l'ombre... is the sixth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on 4 April 2005., this album produced five singles which were all top ten hits in France, including "Fuck Them All" and "L'amour n'est rien..."
Jean-Pierre Bacri was a French actor and screenwriter.
Les Fatals Picards is a French rock/punk band, founded in 1996.
Gabriel Marie Grovlez was a French composer, conductor, pianist, and music critic.
"Q.I" is a 2005 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the second single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre..., and was released on 4 July 2005. Like all other tracks from the album, the lyrics were written by Farmer and the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. The primary meaning of the song is the attraction to one's partner's intelligence, but the lyrics are ambiguous enough to allow a more sexual interpretation. The accompanying music video was filmed by Benoît Lestang in Budapest and starred Rafael Amargo and Farmer, performing soft erotic scenes in a bedroom; however, the video was not well received. Variously received by the media, the song became a top ten hit in France and Belgium (Wallonia).
Marie Chouinard OC is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and dance company director.
Albertine Caron-Legris (1906–1972) was a Canadian pianist, composer and music educator. Many of her manuscripts and personal papers are held in the collection at the Library and Archives Canada.
Joseph Achakji and better known by his stage name XLA is a Canadian urban indie artist and more recently an Electronic dance music (EDM) artist of Egyptian origin In 2006, he also established the independent music production and record label XWide Tidals. He sings mainly in French and English, but also occasionally in Spanish and Arabic. He has collaborated with a number of EDM DJs and producers notably in Mexico (EMPO) and Spain. Besides vocals, he plays guitar, piano, keyboards, drums and tabla. He is also a digital marketer and manages a number of up and coming artists.
Yann Perreau is a Canadian singer songwriter from Quebec specialising in rock-electro music. Between 1994 and 1999, he was a member of Doc et les Chirurgiens, before becoming a solo artist.
Lys Gauty was a French cabaret singer and actress. Her most significant work came in the 1930s and 1940s as Gauty appeared in film, and recorded her best-known song, "Le Chaland qui passe", which is an interpretation of an Italian composition.
